Exploring the History, Literature, and Culture of the Tar Heel State

Republican Resurgence In North Carolina

Many things have been written about the Republican Party’s rise to power in the South during the last half of the 20th century. Well, I’m not going to recap or dissect all of the theories here, but I will share with you some of the political ephemera we’ve collected in an attempt to document this resurgence and North Carolina politics in general. I’ve included two images below. On the left is a pamphlet from Jesse Helms’ first campaign for US Senate, which occurred in 1972. On the right is a pamphlet from Jim Holshouser’s campaign for governor of North Carolina in 1972. Holshouser defeated Skipper Bowles, becoming the first Republican governor elected in North Carolina in the 20th century. Both pamphlets (and more) can be found in the North Carolina Collection’s political ephemera collection.